Current Status and Future of Intelligent Industrial Robots

This paper reviews the current status of industrial robots and discusses their future from the viewpoint of the basic key functions which will be required for future intelligent applications. Ten basic key functions are introduced as examples which satisfy the following four conditions: 1) low price, 2) high performance, 3) high reliability, and 4) simplicity. All of these functions are necessary if robots are to perform tasks more effectively in actual applications. The effectiveness of the functions are explained using ten industrial robots or robotic machines which have been developed by Hitachi.